Page 3 of When a Warrior Woos a Lass
“And will ye?” she asked, looking steadily at him as if they were discussing the weather. He almost laughed aloud at how conceited he’d been. Lena was not interested in him in the least.
“I’ll nae,” he replied. “I’m nae of the mind to marry anytime soon, not to mention that I’ll nae be forced to do so by anyone.” He’d have to wed eventually for an heir, but he would delay the inevitable as long as possible.
She shuddered, and he had a notion she was recalling her own forced marriage to Findlay Campbell. “I dunnae ever wish to marry again,” she rasped.
The futileness of her wishes made him angry for her. He knew, as did her brothers, that King David would use her in marriage, and likely soon, to bind a clan that was possibly not as steadfast as he liked or mayhap even to reward someone loyal. Joining a man to her would thereby join him and his clan to the powerful MacLeods. She would have little say, though Iain would do his best to allow her some choice, but her brother had already greatly strained his relationship with the king before on her behalf. Even the greatest of leaders sometimes had to submit for the good of the entire clan.
Instead of voicing his concerns and worrying her uselessly, Alex held out his hand and tilted his head toward the dancers. “Shall we?”
She stared at his hand as if it might bite her, but she took it, placing her slender fingers in his again. The contact of her warm skin to his caused desire to surge through his veins. His breathing became short and uneven, and they hadn’t even begun to dance. But luckily, once they were amid the others, he did not think she would notice. The music filled his ears, but she filled the rest of his senses completely.
On the third time he spun her about, the wariness finally left her eyes, and it felt as though he’d won a match at a tournament. But when she threw back her head and a musical laugh burst forth, it was as if he’d conquered an enemy. And when a smile of pure joy tugged her lips upward and dimples showed in both her cheeks, he could have conquered a nation.
He lifted her into the air to spin her around, and as he slid her to her feet, their chests briefly brushed. She flinched, but she did not dash away as he half expected she would. Instead, she placed a shaking hand on his arm and squeezed it before releasing him. “I kinnae believe,” she whispered, her voice full of awe, “that I danced again and enjoyed it. Thank ye!”
His chest tightened almost painfully as she smiled up at him. She was perfect, no matter the scars she carried from her past. The scars made her human. It was the reminder of what she’d been through and what she deserved for her future that had him stepping back from her when what he really wanted to do was claim her mouth in a ravishing kiss. He knew where his kisses led him, and it was not somewhere he intended to take her. The lasses that ventured there with him were of a certain voracious and dark nature.
“’Tis I that should thank ye,” he finally managed to reply. “I’m honored ye allowed me the privilege of yer time.”
“Alex!” someone bellowed from his right.
He turned to see Iain, Graham, and Lachlan MacLeod gathered around their brother Cameron. Alex suspected they were about to tease the just-married Cameron about how to handle his lovely bride, Sorcha, on their wedding night, or rather, their second wedding night. The couple had been wed by a simple utterance of commitment and a joining of their bodies a sennight earlier, but when Cameron had learned that Sorcha had wanted to be married in the presence of family and friends, he had orchestrated this celebration.
Alex was loath to leave Lena, which was exactly why he forced himself to face her and say, “If ye’ll excuse me?”
Waving a hand as if shooing him along, she smiled, but the slight tremor of her lips belied the happy expression. “Ye are going to remain at the festivities, are ye nae?” he asked, suspicious that she meant to flee the moment he left her.
“Aye,” she mumbled, unmistakable reluctance filling her voice. “If I dunnae, my brothers’ wives will be cross with me.”
He laughed. It was impossible to stifle it. She looked so forlorn that one would think she was having to stay for an execution rather than a celebration. But when red splotches marred her creamy cheeks and she quickly turned from him and started away, he realized how utterly unthinking he’d just been. He’d unintentionally made her feel more uncomfortable than she likely already had.
Devil take it. He grabbed her by the elbow to stop her flight and apologize. Her entire body went rigid, and she sucked in a sharp breath. “Release me,” she hissed.
The stark terror that punctuated her words made him burn with rage at the untold horrors her late husband had perpetrated against her, leaving her so deeply fearful. If Findlay Campbell were still alive, Alex would hunt the man down like the foul beast he had been and end his life without a twinge of remorse. The urge to pull her against him, wrap his arms around her, and whisper in her ear that he was the biggest sort of fool overtook him, yet he knew she would not welcome such an embrace. He released her, and she fled without a backward glance.
He forced himself not to chase after her, though the desire to do so knotted his belly. He watched her for a moment, and then he turned to go to her brothers. Ever since he was a young lad, she had brought out an intense protective instinct in him, and he recalled telling Iain he was going to marry his sister one day. Alex hoped Iain had forgotten that remark.
Grunting, he wove in and out of the guests, his thoughts circling around and coming back to Lena each time. That need to guard her burned within him greater than ever before, along with the keen desire to claim her mouth, as well as her body. He needed to set these impossible yearnings aside. There was no greater danger to Lena’s delicate state than him, and he could not forget it for a single breath.
Alex strode across the great hall and nodded to Iain, who motioned for him to follow him out of the great hall. He did so, coming up to the four brothers as they entered the gardens where many of the guests stood chatting. On the other side of the crowd, Lena appeared on a stone path and made her way to her newest sister-in-law. As Sorcha began to talk, Lena tilted her head slightly to the right, and he smiled in relief when a happy expression came to her face.
He made himself look away from her and caught Iain staring at him. He met the man’s questioning gaze without blinking. When Iain cocked an eyebrow, Alex frowned, as if he had no notion what Iain was asking, though he suspected his friend would easily recognize the lie.
“Alex, ye’re verra quiet,” Lachlan said. “Dunnae ye have any words of wisdom for Cameron on the lasses?”
“I’ve only one bit of wisdom that’s been hard learned,” Alex said, forcing levity he didn’t feel at the moment into his tone.
“Well,” Cameron pressed, “give me this one bit of knowledge.”
Alex clapped a hand on Cameron’s shoulder. “Ye have two eyes. Keep them both on the woman ye’re wooing.”
“That’s it?” Cameron chuckled.
“Aye,” Alex replied, fighting the impulse to glance toward Lena again.
A commotion commenced at the garden entrance then, drawing his gaze to the path into the gardens. He tensed at the sight of King David striding toward them. The Scot’s plush, ruby cape billowed behind him as he walked, and the closer he came to them, the more apparent the tight, angry expression on his face became. Alex knew that expression well. It was the one David wore when something plagued him.
The king stopped in front of them, and Alex tilted his head with a murmur of, “Sire,” as did the other men.
